My wife has decided on a winter project: build new cushions for the settees in our H33 main cabin. She made a pattern by tracing the outline of the area the cushions set in (without the cushions in place of course). We then bought the material we want to use, as well as a fabric used for patterns. We plan on buying new foam after the material is cut and sewn together. She is all ready to start cutting, but is very anxious about the angle on the side of the cushion against the hull. As you know, the top of the cushion material will be larger then the bottom because of this angle. She has also decided to make the port side one big cushion instead of three, and the starboard side into two cushions. She also wants to make these cushions one inch thicker than the originals. I know that everybody doesn't have new cushions made for them, and there might even be some publication I am unaware of with instructions. I would be happy to communicate through HOW postings, or direct. My e-mail address is kpalmer@rochester.rr.com. Thanks. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty http://www.LakeOntarioSailing.com
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Brian Pickton
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Dec.1,2000 Dear Ken, We rebuilt our cushions after I rebuilt our settees. I am having a little trouble figureing out what exactly your asking, so if you would like to take another stab at it I'd be happy to try again on an answer. With respect to reference materials on building cushions I believe John Rousmanierre's book, "From A Bare Hull" covers some of these issues. I may be wrong about the author, but the book name is correct. It should be at your local library if nowhere else. You can get similar information in furniture refinishing "How To" books. If your asking what the ultimate reclining angle for the cushions should be we found that 12 degrees was too much angle but 9 to 10 degrees worked for us. May I say that you have picked a great boat improvement project for your vessel. Brian Pickton@BeneteauOwners.net Aboard the Legend, Rodney Bay St. Lucia
Dec.1,2000 Dear Ken, We rebuilt our cushions after I rebuilt our settees. I am having a little trouble figureing out what exactly your asking, so if you would like to take another stab at it I'd be happy to try again on an answer. With respect to reference materials on building cushions I believe John Rousmanierre's book, "From A Bare Hull" covers some of these issues. I may be wrong about the author, but the book name is correct. It should be at your local library if nowhere else. You can get similar information in furniture refinishing "How To" books. If your asking what the ultimate reclining angle for the cushions should be we found that 12 degrees was too much angle but 9 to 10 degrees worked for us. May I say that you have picked a great boat improvement project for your vessel. Brian Pickton@BeneteauOwners.net Aboard the Legend, Rodney Bay St. Lucia
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Mark Kissel
Cutting foam...
Ken, When we bought our H240, the wife *hated* the interior fabric. Although capable, she didn't have the time to sew new cushions. We ended up taking all the old cushions to a local upholstery shop. I decided that since we were going to have new fabric, we might as well get a better quality foam. I had the same concerns as you about the slope that needs to be cut on the foam where the edge of the cushion butts up against the hull. The upholsterer said no problem. He was able to cut the foam at the appropriate angle. I've tried cutting foam before; not pleased with my results. Check with a local shop and see how much (little) they would charge to make the angle cuts. Since these guys have the right equipment and do it all the time, it may save some headaches to have them cut all the foam. Good luck! Let us know how they turn out. Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
Ken, When we bought our H240, the wife *hated* the interior fabric. Although capable, she didn't have the time to sew new cushions. We ended up taking all the old cushions to a local upholstery shop. I decided that since we were going to have new fabric, we might as well get a better quality foam. I had the same concerns as you about the slope that needs to be cut on the foam where the edge of the cushion butts up against the hull. The upholsterer said no problem. He was able to cut the foam at the appropriate angle. I've tried cutting foam before; not pleased with my results. Check with a local shop and see how much (little) they would charge to make the angle cuts. Since these guys have the right equipment and do it all the time, it may save some headaches to have them cut all the foam. Good luck! Let us know how they turn out. Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
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Mark Kissel
Ooops!
Sorry, I left out the most important part; use the cut foam as a pattern for the different sized upper and lower pieces. One other thing you might consider, use a mesh type fabric on the bottoms. Allows the foam to "breathe" a little but you won't be able to flip them over. Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
Sorry, I left out the most important part; use the cut foam as a pattern for the different sized upper and lower pieces. One other thing you might consider, use a mesh type fabric on the bottoms. Allows the foam to "breathe" a little but you won't be able to flip them over. Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
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Ken Palmer
Excellent idea Mark
I like the idea of a meshed bottom. The cushions would be impossible to flip over anyway because of the odd shapes. Not quite like home couch cushions. You mentioned the foam cutting. It almost sounds like you are suggesting that the foam be cut first, then the cloth, using the foam as a pattern for the upper and lower pieces. That makes sense, but getting back to my original question, (I know that I really didn't ask a question on my first post. Sorry.), how do you figure the angle? My thought is to use the original cushion as a guide. I mentioned that I want the new ones to be thicker, so I guess I would just have to extend the top section out to adjust for the added inch of thickness. I'm sorry for being so anal about this. I always have this great fear when it comes to doing something new. Just part of my character I guess. Thanks again for the suggestions. Now I will see if the other half will respond to my suggestions. HA! Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
I like the idea of a meshed bottom. The cushions would be impossible to flip over anyway because of the odd shapes. Not quite like home couch cushions. You mentioned the foam cutting. It almost sounds like you are suggesting that the foam be cut first, then the cloth, using the foam as a pattern for the upper and lower pieces. That makes sense, but getting back to my original question, (I know that I really didn't ask a question on my first post. Sorry.), how do you figure the angle? My thought is to use the original cushion as a guide. I mentioned that I want the new ones to be thicker, so I guess I would just have to extend the top section out to adjust for the added inch of thickness. I'm sorry for being so anal about this. I always have this great fear when it comes to doing something new. Just part of my character I guess. Thanks again for the suggestions. Now I will see if the other half will respond to my suggestions. HA! Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty
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Mark Kissel
If you really want to be anal...
...you can very accurately make a template using a drafting compass and a piece of cardboard. Remove the cushion and place a piece of cardboard vertical but perpendicular to the hull. (Whew, this is going to take three hands) Either remove the point for the compass or cover it with several layers of tape. The idea is that you don't want to scratch anything (or poke your eye out, as mom used to say). Now open the compass wide enough so that the point can ride against the hull while the pencil rides on the cardboard. Keep the compass at the same attitude as you move the point up the hull side. This will transfer the exact angle to the cardboard. Now you have a perfect pattern to cut the foam regardless of thickness. Don't worry too much about curvature of the hull. It won't be enough to matter. I watched the upholsterer mark out one cushion on the fabric when ours were being made. Don't hold me to exact dimensions but here's what he did. He placed the cut foam (which would become the top of the cushion) on the fabric and traced around the exact size. He then extended his marks about 3/4 inch all the way around. He flipped the foam over and once again marked out the exact size on the mesh fabric. He extended these marks 3/4 inch as well. I hate to leave you hanging but I had to leave before he did anything else. My point is, there were definitely two different sized pieces for the top and bottom of the cushion. The finished cushions have a slight curvature on the back edge that butts up against the hull very nicely. The foam was cut at a straight angle, not curved, but since it compresses slightly inside the fabric, it appears to "fill-in" and looks like it was custom molded. As for persuading the wife, just pull out the sewing machine, thread, needles and scissors in the middle of the living room floor. If she's like mine, it won't take long before you hear, "Let me show you how to do that the RIGHT way". ;-) Best of luck to you! Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
...you can very accurately make a template using a drafting compass and a piece of cardboard. Remove the cushion and place a piece of cardboard vertical but perpendicular to the hull. (Whew, this is going to take three hands) Either remove the point for the compass or cover it with several layers of tape. The idea is that you don't want to scratch anything (or poke your eye out, as mom used to say). Now open the compass wide enough so that the point can ride against the hull while the pencil rides on the cardboard. Keep the compass at the same attitude as you move the point up the hull side. This will transfer the exact angle to the cardboard. Now you have a perfect pattern to cut the foam regardless of thickness. Don't worry too much about curvature of the hull. It won't be enough to matter. I watched the upholsterer mark out one cushion on the fabric when ours were being made. Don't hold me to exact dimensions but here's what he did. He placed the cut foam (which would become the top of the cushion) on the fabric and traced around the exact size. He then extended his marks about 3/4 inch all the way around. He flipped the foam over and once again marked out the exact size on the mesh fabric. He extended these marks 3/4 inch as well. I hate to leave you hanging but I had to leave before he did anything else. My point is, there were definitely two different sized pieces for the top and bottom of the cushion. The finished cushions have a slight curvature on the back edge that butts up against the hull very nicely. The foam was cut at a straight angle, not curved, but since it compresses slightly inside the fabric, it appears to "fill-in" and looks like it was custom molded. As for persuading the wife, just pull out the sewing machine, thread, needles and scissors in the middle of the living room floor. If she's like mine, it won't take long before you hear, "Let me show you how to do that the RIGHT way". ;-) Best of luck to you! Mark Kissel Kittiwake/98H240
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Joe
Use simple geometry....
... to measure the angle. Or use a protractor. Or a carpenter's square. Or two flat sticks hinged together at the ends to transfer the angle to the work. You're not building a rocket, you know. Go to a tool/hardware store and ask for help if you aren't able to improvise.
... to measure the angle. Or use a protractor. Or a carpenter's square. Or two flat sticks hinged together at the ends to transfer the angle to the work. You're not building a rocket, you know. Go to a tool/hardware store and ask for help if you aren't able to improvise.
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Ken Palmer
Thanks for all of the advice.
Sometimes you have to make it very simple for me. When I went to high school, I said that I would never have to use algebra and geometry. Here it is 40 years later, and by golly, there is a use for all that knowledge I have forgotten. This project will get done, one way or another. Besides, since we aren’t sailing in the winter, it gives my wife and I something to argue about. Cheers, Ken Palmer S/V Liberty
Sometimes you have to make it very simple for me. When I went to high school, I said that I would never have to use algebra and geometry. Here it is 40 years later, and by golly, there is a use for all that knowledge I have forgotten. This project will get done, one way or another. Besides, since we aren’t sailing in the winter, it gives my wife and I something to argue about. Cheers, Ken Palmer S/V Liberty
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Don
Use an electric carving knife
One of my father's recent hobbies was upholstery. He learned to use an old electic carving knife to cut the foam. Worked like a charm from my perspective. Everyone has one of these knvies somewhere in storage, if not you can probably find one at a local yard sale for a dollar or so. Good luck.
One of my father's recent hobbies was upholstery. He learned to use an old electic carving knife to cut the foam. Worked like a charm from my perspective. Everyone has one of these knvies somewhere in storage, if not you can probably find one at a local yard sale for a dollar or so. Good luck.
Measuring and cutting bunk foam
Don from Annapolis has it right about the electric steak knife. We cut all the prototype foam cushions for our boats using my mom's. An upholsterer friend noted for 'cutting corners' (hah!) gave us the tip. Forget the geometry. The easiest thing way to figure the angle of the foam against the hull is to scribe it. Find a 1 x 4 piece of white pine or any other board about 6 ft long and about as wide as the cushion is high. Stand it on edge with the ends in the corners where the bunk top meets the hull. Make sure you can transfer those two points and the line of board onto the krepe paper for your cardboard template of the cushion top. Lay your carpenter's level (even if the boat is not sitting PERFECTLY level) horizontally across the top edge of the board and slide it over till it meets the hull with the bubble showing level. Measure the distance from the board to where the level hits the hull. Do this in about five places along the bunk edge. Now transfer those five marks to the krepe paper from which you will cut the template and connect them with a fair curve. Cut the BIG dimension first and then flip over the foam, put the template for the bottom on the bottom face, and shave the foam with the carving knife on an angle (lots of crumbs but nothing very toxic). Be sure to cut everything about an inch undersize all the way round to allow for padding, upholstery and, as my mom will remind you, tucking in bed linens!!! By the way by doing this you just learned your first lesson in lofting lines of a boat design for construction! [wink] I hate to say it but I'd differ with my dad's acommodation plans again here. My solution in design and in upholstery, when there is room, is to cut the bunks with both sides PARALLEL to the centreline at about 27-30 inches wide and then make some kind of bin outboard along the hull to take up the inevitable wedge of space. The bunks are cosier, the cushions are easier to make, the corners last longer, the sheets fit better, and besides, with the boat heeled and you asleep, you will lie parallel to the centreline of the boat and not awaken head-down when the crew changes tacks! J Cherubini II Cherubini Art & Nautical Design Org.
Don from Annapolis has it right about the electric steak knife. We cut all the prototype foam cushions for our boats using my mom's. An upholsterer friend noted for 'cutting corners' (hah!) gave us the tip. Forget the geometry. The easiest thing way to figure the angle of the foam against the hull is to scribe it. Find a 1 x 4 piece of white pine or any other board about 6 ft long and about as wide as the cushion is high. Stand it on edge with the ends in the corners where the bunk top meets the hull. Make sure you can transfer those two points and the line of board onto the krepe paper for your cardboard template of the cushion top. Lay your carpenter's level (even if the boat is not sitting PERFECTLY level) horizontally across the top edge of the board and slide it over till it meets the hull with the bubble showing level. Measure the distance from the board to where the level hits the hull. Do this in about five places along the bunk edge. Now transfer those five marks to the krepe paper from which you will cut the template and connect them with a fair curve. Cut the BIG dimension first and then flip over the foam, put the template for the bottom on the bottom face, and shave the foam with the carving knife on an angle (lots of crumbs but nothing very toxic). Be sure to cut everything about an inch undersize all the way round to allow for padding, upholstery and, as my mom will remind you, tucking in bed linens!!! By the way by doing this you just learned your first lesson in lofting lines of a boat design for construction! [wink] I hate to say it but I'd differ with my dad's acommodation plans again here. My solution in design and in upholstery, when there is room, is to cut the bunks with both sides PARALLEL to the centreline at about 27-30 inches wide and then make some kind of bin outboard along the hull to take up the inevitable wedge of space. The bunks are cosier, the cushions are easier to make, the corners last longer, the sheets fit better, and besides, with the boat heeled and you asleep, you will lie parallel to the centreline of the boat and not awaken head-down when the crew changes tacks! J Cherubini II Cherubini Art & Nautical Design Org.
Choosing the foam for bunk cushions
Mark's idea for meshed-bottom cushion upholstery reminded me of a scheme we had at Cherubini Boat for cockpit cushions. Most bunk foam is polyvinylchloride (PVC) and absorbs water. If it didn't they'd never get mildewed! This is known as open-cell foam. It's cheap and easy to work and you don't feel guilty if you waste a little. Its worst drawback is that it reflects body heat– hence that sweaty back you always get whilst sleeping aboard. Closed-cell foam is impervious to water absorption. The 'cells' of the foam are actually tiny, whole spheres which do not get punctured in shaping– rather like those styrofoam beads that are the lowest common denominator when cheap coolers break down. There is a brand name of closed-cell foam called Airex that was bought up by someone in New Jersey or Connecticut some years ago and might still be searchable on the Web. But there are others. Airex is distinctive in that it is immensely buoyant and does not soak up water. Water actually beads up on it. With a little calculation we discovered that one upholstered 6-ft-long, 3-inch-thick cockpit-seat cushion for a Cherubini 44, though costing something like $200 or more, was actually buoyant enough to meet USCG specs for a class-4 throwable PFD! The boat could sink and you'd still be high and dry and reclining on the cushion. If only the Titanic had had steamer-chair cushions of Airex! J Cherubini II Cherubini Art & Nautical Design Org.
Mark's idea for meshed-bottom cushion upholstery reminded me of a scheme we had at Cherubini Boat for cockpit cushions. Most bunk foam is polyvinylchloride (PVC) and absorbs water. If it didn't they'd never get mildewed! This is known as open-cell foam. It's cheap and easy to work and you don't feel guilty if you waste a little. Its worst drawback is that it reflects body heat– hence that sweaty back you always get whilst sleeping aboard. Closed-cell foam is impervious to water absorption. The 'cells' of the foam are actually tiny, whole spheres which do not get punctured in shaping– rather like those styrofoam beads that are the lowest common denominator when cheap coolers break down. There is a brand name of closed-cell foam called Airex that was bought up by someone in New Jersey or Connecticut some years ago and might still be searchable on the Web. But there are others. Airex is distinctive in that it is immensely buoyant and does not soak up water. Water actually beads up on it. With a little calculation we discovered that one upholstered 6-ft-long, 3-inch-thick cockpit-seat cushion for a Cherubini 44, though costing something like $200 or more, was actually buoyant enough to meet USCG specs for a class-4 throwable PFD! The boat could sink and you'd still be high and dry and reclining on the cushion. If only the Titanic had had steamer-chair cushions of Airex! J Cherubini II Cherubini Art & Nautical Design Org.
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